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Jerry Winkler – from uitschot to millionaire Posted by Sten on Sep 9, 2015
When Jerry was 14 years old, he ran from home, and lived in orphanages and boarding schools, until he was 18. Then, he was deemed old enough to take his life in his own hands. Battered by his past, he lived on the streets of Amsterdam, drinking and smoking up too much, and living from…
Yellow and Dutch – All you need to know about Dutch kentekenplaten! Posted by Sten on Sep 7, 2015
This March, a new kentekenplaten (car plates) system was introduced in the Netherlands. The old system was exhausted. Again! Here on the Dutch-German border, in the German part, we see the yellow kentekenplaten more and more. Famously here are the many Dutch that cross the border to do their groceries at the local supermarkets in Germany. Allegedly because they…
The surprising Dutch sweetener for savory warm dishes Posted by Sten on Sep 4, 2015
When you think about the Netherlands and sweet, you may come up with things like Stroopwafels, Hagelslag or Vla (a post on that one soon!). I am talking about a sweet treat that is eaten with warm dinner. It is more of a side. Especially with potatoes. Yes, those yellow roots we eat. In the Netherlands, you eat…
The Dutch Alternative for the Elfstedentocht Posted by Sten on Aug 28, 2015
The Dutch Tocht der Tochten (tour of tours), the 200 km (120 mi) long ice skating tour that runs through eleven cities in the province Friesland in the winter, has an unfortunate fate. Everybody is hopeful each year again that the Elfstedentocht (eleven cities tour) will happen, though sadly this is usually not the…
6 things you need to know about Schiphol airport Posted by Sten on Aug 23, 2015
It was travel time again for me – and I left from Schiphol, the largest luchthaven (airport) of the Netherlands. With almost 55 million passengers only last year, it is the fourth busiest luchthavens of Europe – quite impressive for a small country like the Netherlands! Here are 6 things you should definitely know the…
The Dutch Eerste Maandag van de Maand Posted by Sten on Aug 5, 2015
It is Monday, 11:59 am, the first Monday of the month. It is about to be noon. Every month again, these last 60 seconds are a countdown. Then, exactly at noon, it happens. Many are shocked for a moment, wondering what to do. Is this real? Or just another test? In the end, this happens…
The Dutch Toilet Posted by Sten on Jun 19, 2015
A few weeks ago, I had Israeli friends visiting me here in the Netherlands. And they told me how surprised they were about the toilets in the Netherlands. They complained about the “shallow flusher”, which was just gross! They were used to the traditional “deep flusher” used in most other countries. The shallow flusher has…